Topic: Help: Church Audio, Sound Professionals OR Microphone Madness (in a ~100€ range)

[adrianf74]

Thank you all very much for your kind and clarifying answers, specially Adrian for your long post.

So, CA-14's and a battery box might be my way to go? Well, that's pretty affordable, although Chris doesn't seem to have the 14's listed on his website. I might PM him soon, just to get a drift of how much would it be a pair of 14s plus shipping plus the battery box.

Another question if you don't mind   :  are DYI battery boxes actually reliable? A friend of mine says that they can provide oscilating power&tension to the mics, causing the sensitivity to change and therefore making the recording pretty unstable. Any tips, comments on that? I am proficient with soldering iron and I have the materials to build a BB, I just want to know if a home-made one will be good enough for powering the CA-14 mics or if it will end up making the mics sound like cheapo Sony DS70's hahaha...

It seems like CA-11/14's are indeed the best option. One last question before I contact Chris directly: how do CA11's compare to SP-CMC-4's or CMC-8's? There's a good offer on those over the Yard Sale and a user from here told me by PM that he prefer those mics over CAs, having used both extensively.

By the way, he also told me that he/she has used the CMC-8 mics without using a battery box with acceptable results - although I won't take his/her word on that as I'm already convinced by you all that a BB is neccesary 

You're most certainly welcome. 

You need to PM Chris here on TS.COM or e-mail him and refer to the site.  Check the Retail Space for his latest sales and you'll see what he's charging.  He recently had a CA-14 and battery box for pretty cheap.  His prices on his site (or fleaBay) have NOTHING to do with what he sells to us for. 

I would say CA-14 > CMC-4 and CA-11 <> CMC-8.  I've owned the older CMC-8's and they are CRAP compared to the CA-14's (and they used the better capsule as I'd previously mentioned).

DIY Battery Boxes are fine but I'd rather buy something from somebody who knows what they're doing and who builds these things for a living (Chris Church, for example).  As far as using the CMC-8's without a battery box, I wouldn't -- even with the low-sensitivity Mod (which Chris came up with).  Any rock or pop or electified show would be safest with a battery box.  You could spend the extra money for a preamp but I find that I hardly have to gain up on the preamp so it's really a waste of cash especially when you're on a fixed budget.  I would look at the CA-14 and the battery box.  I think that'd serve you perfectly.  Honestly, the battery box doesn't add much more weight to your gear and you'll be happy you had one -- espcecially for that killer show where it overloaded on you and you wish you had. 

[TimeBandit]

the preamp is a option if your current recorder doesn't have gain setting on line-in, so you can dial in the gain on the preamp.  the gain wheel on the ca preamp is not that easy to move so even hidden in the pocket it should stay resistant.

or even recording acoustic if the recorder's gain is too noisy you should use the gain of the preamp at first instance.

[LikeASong]

Thank you all once again  Specially Adrian again and TimeBandit.

Regarding TimeBandit's last post, yes, my recorder -Zoom Q3HD- has a gain setting and it can be set as Low (for loud audio sources), High (for lower ones) and Auto (it auto-corrects the gain according to the changes in volume). I have set it at low during all the recordings I've done with it and it didn't distort a single time - although it had some serious problems with the bass overload on Coldplay, but that might be due to me being in first row, 1'5 meters away to the PA stacks 

OK, I'm going to write Chris asking for an invoice on a battery box and the CA-11's or 14's. If it's not too high I'll get it without a second thought


I'll be glad to share my recordings and experiences with you, and here's looking forward to keep on learning from you all. Thanks!

[TimeBandit]

just my thought. i would switch  the zoom gear to tascam Dr5 / dr7 (mkII), or roland r-05 or sony m10 or olympus LS11 / LS5/ LS3. better build quality and internal circuits.

If you used that zoom  for videos get an additional panasonic zs3/ zs7 (us modell with no video limit) and mix the video and audio source later.

and switch off everything what is called "auto xyz" like gain, voice activation etc. they are foreward designed for voice dictaphone usings. one exception the limiter on the m10 which handles nice and can be left on as last security.

[LikeASong]

The Zoom is quite versatile and it records video in HD (720p or 1080p), plus its internals ain't that bad for home recording, so I won't be switching it for anything anytime soon. When my budget isn't that limited, I will get a Tascam DR40 or a Sony PCM10, I know they're bar better recorders than the Zoom, just.....not for now   (Unless you have a free Tascam lying on your desktop who needs desperately a home ) Just kidding. Thanks anyway for the advice, timebandit

[absnj]

Thank you all once again  Specially Adrian again and TimeBandit.

Regarding TimeBandit's last post, yes, my recorder -Zoom Q3HD- has a gain setting and it can be set as Low (for loud audio sources), High (for lower ones) and Auto (it auto-corrects the gain according to the changes in volume). I have set it at low during all the recordings I've done with it and it didn't distort a single time - although it had some serious problems with the bass overload on Coldplay, but that might be due to me being in first row, 1'5 meters away to the PA stacks 

OK, I'm going to write Chris asking for an invoice on a battery box and the CA-11's or 14's. If it's not too high I'll get it without a second thought


I'll be glad to share my recordings and experiences with you, and here's looking forward to keep on learning from you all. Thanks!


Here is an offer for CA-14's and preamp, located in Norway:

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=152785.0

[adrianf74]

I think the OP's already on this...

[LikeASong]

I think the OP's already on this...

Yes, I am Thank you anyway, absnj, appreciated!

[Church-Audio]

I think the OP's already on this...

Yes, I am Thank you anyway, absnj, appreciated!

And remember that preamp is still under warranty if you have any issues that are not from wear and tear or abuse I will replace or fix it for free.

[absnj]

I think the OP's already on this...

Yes, I am Thank you anyway, absnj, appreciated!

And remember that preamp is still under warranty if you have any issues that are not from wear and tear or abuse I will replace or fix it for free.

Ya gotta love a vendor who does this... Thanks Chris!

[LikeASong]

Absolutely. Your after-sales policy is absolutely fantastic from what I've heard so far, Chris. Nevertheless, I hope I don't have to use it at all

I'm so glad I'm eventually getting a pair of CA-14s and a 9100 preamp (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=152785.0) I couldn't be happier - specially since this is the very start of my own rig, what a better way to start it than with some excellent Church Audio stuff? Thank you for all those who've helped in this thread.

[TimeBandit]

there is no better way to start taping like with this equipment.

Don't forget if you got special wishes for your order just ask Chris (connector type, cabel length, clips or not etc.. )

[F.O.Bean]

Absolutely. Your after-sales policy is absolutely fantastic from what I've heard so far, Chris. Nevertheless, I hope I don't have to use it at all

I'm so glad I'm eventually getting a pair of CA-14s and a 9100 preamp (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=152785.0) I couldn't be happier - specially since this is the very start of my own rig, what a better way to start it than with some excellent Church Audio stuff? Thank you for all those who've helped in this thread.

Best of luck bro and happy taping!